Where did the ex-goalkeeper of Chelsea and the Russian national team Dmitry Kharin go, where is he now, what does he do – July 31, 2022
Dmitry Rosip
Tells what happened to Dmitry Kharin.
Olympic champion Seoul-88 Dmitry Kharin ended up at Chelsea before the arrival of Roman Abramovich. The Russian goalkeeper moved to the club from London in December 1992 for a modest £400,000, having managed to build a successful career in the Premier League. Although I originally received Harina in England, it was hard.
“As for football, there is a crisis,” Dmitry admitted in an interview with the Kultura newspaper. – More power struggle, tougher contact with rivals. In Britain, forwards are less ceremonious with goalkeepers than in Russia. You gape – and together with the ball you will be pushed into the goal. The referee will not give a penalty after that.”
In Chelsea, Kharin’s main competitor for a place at the base was goalkeeper Kevin Hitchcock, who, in an interview with the English press, very warmly welcomed his new travel partner: “When I first arrived, the then Chelsea main goalkeeper Hitchcock said in an interview with one of the newspapers that Kharin came to Chelsea in vain: “I will not give him a single chance, and he will spend his entire contract on the bank.” I didn’t take it seriously. I ended up being the goalkeeper. However, later on, we developed normal relations with him, just like with all the goalkeepers of the foreign clubs where we played.”
Already in 1994, Kharin went to the base in the FA Cup final against Manchester United. True, the match at Wembley was not crowned with his success – the Red Devils powerfully smeared Chelsea, scoring 4 unanswered goals against the goalkeeper of the Russian national team.
Nevertheless, the head coach of the blues, Glenn Hoddle, entrusted the place of the less sought-after goalkeeper to Kharin. Dmitry played at the start until he received a cruciate ligament rupture, which left him out of football for a year and a half. This happened in the case of 1996/97, when experienced players like Roberto Di Matteo and Gianfranco Zola appeared at Chelsea, the legendary Ruud Gullit became a player-manager. In the game against Sheffield, Kharin got the result, but landed badly, because of which he could not continue the match.
While Dmitry was recovering from a terrible storm, Chelsea began to collect trophies. In 1997, the Londoners took the FA Cup, beating Middlesbrough Wembley (2: 0) in the final, and the following year snatched three more titles – the Cup Winners’ Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the English League Cup.
The rupture of the cruciate ligaments is strongly manifested in the exclusive collection of Kharin. The Russian goalkeeper lost his place at the base, and it was incredibly difficult for him to fight for him again. At that time, Ed de Gouy, who was called by Ruud Gullit himself, took the Chelsea goal. Kharin realized that the competition at Chelsea was no longer close – he accepted the offer of Celtic, which he would later regret very much.
“In England, I became a homebody,” Dmitry claimed. And the outlook on football has changed. I was less worried if the coach did not put it into the essence. I understood: a coach is a coach, he also has a contract with the club, and he is responsible for the result. If the coach considers it necessary to leave in reserve, this is his right.
In Scotland, Russian goalkeepers are returning to their pursuers. In addition, there he had a conflict with Celtic head coach Martin O’Neill, who repeatedly reproached him for being lazy.
“Martin O’Neill is a famous former Irish footballer. But it didn’t work out right away with him, ”Kharin recalled. – In one of the sources of conversation, he called me lazy. Naturally, I was offended. I’ve always been a hard worker, and then some Irishman calls you lazy! He could not bear to answer: “How can you call me lazy if after three operations on the cruciate ligaments I returned to football and still look good compared to the goalkeepers that you have?”
After only 8 matches, Dmitry left Celtic. He was called back to CSKA, but he decided to return to England, where he signed a contract with the semi-professional club Hornchurch from the eighth division.
“I had the opportunity to return to CSKA, but now it’s my home,” Kharin said. “I don’t have to think too much about money anymore, and I just want to combine more time in the aggregate and a quiet life.”
After completing his career, Dmitry went to train goalkeepers at the modest Luton, where he worked until 2013. Together with the club, he went through hard times, met in an interview with Soviet Sport:
“I decided to take a break from football, but to do, let’s say, outdoor activities. I went to coaching courses. It seems like you relax, and at the same time you get useful information, and after it the “crust”. In 2003, an offer was received from Luton, where one of the posts was held by Mick Huffett. We worked together at Chelsea. The club was looking for a goalkeeping coach. I decided to try and work at Luton today. Already years of years. There were ups and downs. There were financial problems that emptied the club into the fifth league. But it’s better to talk about pleasant things. In the 2004/05 season, we won the championship in the second league and advanced to the Championship. We took 11th place there – in principle, what every club plans: to gain a foothold, not to fly out. The next year they were supposed to go on an increase, but in the period-2006/07 there was a financial problem. Because of which? Poor management, overestimation of their capabilities. When there is a shortage of money, they leave and take on the players. No one of equal value was acquired, and the fall began. Then the situation only worsened, and suddenly it happened in the fifth league.
Then the ex-football player of the Russian national team entered the coaching staff of the legendary Teddy Sheringham at Stevenage, but a year later he was fired. Kharin has been working for the semi-professional club Hemel Hempstead Town for the last five years.
Kharin’s photo on the club’s official website
Dmitry has firmly settled in England and, it seems, does not want to return to Russia at all. He stopped distracting attention and going into the shadows so as not to draw attention to his person. His younger Mikhail returned to Russia once a year to see his relatives. The rest of the time the brothers communicate with each other via video link.
In one of his long-standing interviews with Soviet Sport, Kharin said that he was absolutely happy in England: “Happiness, basically, is when I have a beloved family, a nice house 20 minutes from London, which both my wife and I like. Happiness is when your son is 23 years old, he keeps up with the times, lives separately, because we also bought a house for him. We never took mortgages, nobody needs anything. And there is good work with the future. Then you realized that money no longer matters. Much more important is the quality of life, inner comfort … So tell me, why should I go back when my family is happy here?